1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to 3-dimensional (3D) graphics, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for rendering 3D graphic data as a 2D image.
2. Description of the Related Art
A point-based rendering algorithm is used to render a point model comprising a combination of points and having a 3D shape by generating a planar splat such as a square or circle in each of the points on which the point model is projected, unlike a polygon-based rendering algorithm of appropriately combining a plurality of polygons.
When the splatting algorithm is used to determine a color of a pixel, the image quality is improved, but the 3D graphic data is processed more slowly. Further, if filtering is used to improve the image quality, the 3D graphic data is processed more slowly than before. However, fast rendering is required to perform a navigation operation in which a camera or a point of view may move.